Wool
is an animal-based protein, or keratin, fiber. Under the microscope, a single hair of wool is slightly elliptical in shape andcovered with a layer
ofoverlapping scales that point
towards the end of the fiber. Long wool breeds tend to have long, thin scales that barely overlap, giving these
fibers a smooth and shiny appearance.
Fine wools have an irregular surface that does not reflect light as well, making it a more non-lustrous
fiber. These scalesacttodirectdirt and moisture away from a sheep's body, but they also play an important in wool shrinkage and felting. In
general, finer wools feel softer and
wear less wellcompared with coarser wools.

Although
wool is the weakest asan individual
fiber when compared to individual
fibers of silk, cotton or linen, it is a very strong and durable fiber when spun and woven. Its remarkablespringinessandelasticity
allows its fibers to be folded or
bent repeatedly without breaking. With
its rough surfacescales and natural crimp,
it traps air well and allows for a high degree of warmth. Wool
can also absorb up to 1/3 its weight
in moisturewithout feeling damp
to the touch.It is also naturally
flame resistant and will not flare or continue to burn once the flame
source is removed – most synthetics will not only continue
to burn, but they will often melt and/or smolder for hours.

Sheep
fleeces can vary inlength, color,
diameter and curl/crimp pattern
just as much as human hair.
Just as one hairstyle does not look
equally goodon everyone, no one wool
can be used equally well for every purposethat
utilizes wool. Different breeds of sheep have wool with different
characteristics, including thickness of the individual hairs, curl, texture and color. Therefore it
helps to know about a variety of
fleece characteristics and types so
that youcan get the best balance
between the intended project and thewool you want to use.

TYPE
OF WOOL & FINENESSCLASSIFICATION

Wool
can come in an incredible variety of
thicknesses and textures. There are
two primary systems used to classify the fineness ofwool: micron count (indicated by )
which is a physical measurement
of the average diameter ofa fleece in thousands of a millimeter;
and wool quality numbers which are a subjective assessment based on the maximum number
of 560-yard skeins that can be spun fromone
pound of combed wool top. Micron counts are mainly
used in Australia and New Zealand.
The lower the micron
number, the finer the fleece is. Wool quality numbers, which are also known as spinning count or Bradford count,
is usedin the United States and
Britain. In this system, the higher the quality
number, the finer the fleece.

Fine
wools are usually distinguished by their low average fiber diameters (33-17 or 50s-

90s)
which means that they will feel softer than other wool types. Most ofthe fine wool breeds are the result of one or
more of these breedshaving been
crossed at one or more points with merino sheep in attempts to create sheep withbetter
meat production while still capable
of producing a high-qualityfleece
of fine wool. Thefleeces are mediumto
large in size, weighing between 9-13 pounds, and the staple length ranges
between 3-5 inches long. The crimp
of these breeds is very close, giving themexcellent elasticity and bounce. These fleeces are often chosen to be
combined with exotic fibers like silk, cashmere
and angora to add bounce and elasticity without affecting the natural softness of the yarns. The lanolin in these
wools tends to be very waxy and difficult to remove, and is often quite heavy-
resulting in substantial weight loss of the fleece during washing. These fibers are usuallyprepared and spun
worsted into a smooth yarn with a bright finish, or spun woolen into a soft,
bouncy yarn. When made into cloth,
fine wools have a very soft handle, feel and
drape. These fibers also tend to felt very easily, so extra care must be used
when washing these fleeces. Breeds
of fine wool include: merino,

Long
wools have a longer average fiber diameter,
making them durable and hard-wearing
but not as soft to the touch as the fine wools. Longwools range in diameters frommediumto coarse
(32-40 or 36s-48s) which makes themsuitable for outerwear garments, carpets,
upholstery, and other household fabrics.
These wools tend to be lustrous or semi-lustrous, with a wavy crimp pattern and a mediumto long stapleranging from 5-9 inches, but occasionally
as long as 12 inches. Most of these breeds have a moderate lanolin content,
but can be easily washed without the
special care required by finewools to prevent felting.
Longwool fleeces can be prepared in a variety of states from worsted to woolen, but are most frequently combed, flicked or drumcarded to make strong,
lustrousyarns that wear well.
Breeds of longwool sheep in this book
include: Border Leceister,Cotswald,
Dartmoor, English Leceister,

Down-type
wools come fromsheep breeds that are bred primarily
for meat production, but their wools usually have a well-developed
spiral crimp that makes them very elastic, springy and crush
resistant. Down breed fleeces rangein diameter
fromfine to mediumand have a
staple lengthbetween 2-4 inches long.
Because these fleeces usually havea shorter staple, they are usually spun
woollen and produce a full, round yarn. These wools tend to have a
luster-less, more matte finish than
long or fine wools, but the crimp
contributes tothe elastic, bulky,
and resilient qualities inherent in
yarn or cloth made fromthesefleeces.
Some of these breeds tend to grow colored or kemp fibers intheir
wool, which makes them ideal for use in tweeds, sweaters, socks, blankets,
and outerwear garment fabrics. These
wools have only a moderate grease content and are not prone to felting, so
no special care in washing is
required. Washing will cause the
crimp to curl up more,leaving your staple slightly shorter than it was in the grease. Because of
the wide variety in staple length, shorter fleeces can be hand or drum-carded, but the longer staples can be flicked or combed for moreworsted yarns. Combed yarns will have a
greater durability than carded yarns, but both will have a greatdegree of bounce and elasticity. Down
breeds in this book include: Black Welsh
Mountain, Cheviot, Dorset, Norfolk
Horn, Portland, Shetland, Welsh
Mountain Badger Face,

Double-coated
wools come fromsheep
that had evolved and established themselves
long before our modern wool breeds were developed.They are extremely
hardy and an live in

harsher
environments with meager pasturage. Their longer, hairy outer coat
sheds rain and snow while their shorter, fine undercoat provides an excellent
layer of insulation against the skin. The outer coat usually has no crimp or only a slight wave, but the inner
coat will have crimp proportional to
its fineness. These breeds comin a
variety of colors and fiber diameters,
so it is difficult to classify these breeds according to fiber diameter.
While the undercoats can be quite fine, the coarseness of the outer coats
often limits the use of these wools.Most of these breeds contain little
lanolin that does notrequire a great
degree of carein washing, but treat
the fibers gently if you want to combine both inner and outer coats together in
your project, as extensive handling may
start separating the fibers. To prepare
themtogether hand or drumcarding is ideal, as it will allow
the yarn to shed moister whileproviding warmth. You can comb or
flick the fibers to separate theminto
the two different coats, then the
outer coat can be spun into strong, hard-wearing yarns and the inner coat can
be spun into soft,lofty yarns or
blended with other fibers. Double-coated
breeds include: Icelandic,Karakul, Navajo-Churro, Scottish Blackface, Spaelsau.

Hair
(as opposed to wool) comes from sheep
breeds that originated in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world where they adapted to thrive in
warmclimates. These sheep shed their fiber each year, and are raised almost
exclusively for their meat.
The wool tends to be very short, coarse and hairy. Breeds of this type include the Wiltshire Horn

Primitive breeds
ofsheep and feral breeds ofsheep also produce fiber.
Primitive breeds of sheep
represent an intermediary
step betweenthe first domesticated sheep and modern
breeds, and have survived where many
other breeds either died out or were bred to exhibit different characteristics.
For example, the Soay breed is thought to have descended fromsheep domesticated
in the Stone Age, and the Orkney may be the remnants of domesticated
sheep from the Iron Age. Feral sheep descend fromdomesticated animals
that escaped or were released and
adapted to environmental pressures and their isolated status,
thus regaining their primitive
characteristics over time. These
breeds have short,fine wooly coat
intermixed with hair or kemp fibers that are predominately colored and tend tomolt their fiber annually.Many of these breeds are very rare, and
have thus found a niche in the
specialty wool industry. Breeds of these types include: Manx Loghtan, Orkney,
Soay

WOOL
PREPARATION

Wool
that is prepared for spinning or is already
spun into yarn is classified as either worsted or woolen. This is determined not only by the type of wool, but also by how it's prepared and spun.

"Worsted" designates
yarns that are prepared from long fibersof
similar length that lie parallel
together - meaning that worsted
preparations are usually done to
fine wools or long wools, and rarely if ever to down-type ordouble-coated wools. Worsted preparations are combed in order to remove the shorter hairs and align the fibers in a parallel direction, known to spinners as "top."
Worsted wools, when spuninto yarn, are very strong and smooth, have a bright sheenwhen
spun froma lustrous fleece, tend to
wear better than their woolen
counterparts, but are not as warm.

"Woolen" designates yarns
that are prepared from fibers thatare carded together so that the shorter
and longer fibers are blended
together evenly. They dousually
not lie parallel to each other and are usually spun at a right angle to their place in the fiber preparation, which is known as "roving." Spinning at a
right angle to the fibers allows the fibers to be jumbled together, thus trapping as much air space as possible
between the fibers. Woolen yarns
are lofty, warmer and have more bounce than their worstedcounterparts, but tend to fill and fuzz with
wear.

In
addition to worsted and woolen preparations, there are several intermediate combinations
of preparing and spinning the fibers.
Semi-worsted
preparations can include wool that has been flicked while still inlock formprior to spinning so that both long and
short fiber are still present, but all the fibers
are lying parallel to each other. Carding on a drumcarder is also a semi-worsted preparation, since the constant
rotation of the fibers being brushed around the drumtends to align themmore
than as ifthey were prepared on
handcards. Semi-woolen preparations usually involve fibers
that have been carded on handcards,
or top that is spun folded over the fingers to forma triangle so that the yarn has a more woolen structure.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

British Wool Marketing Board. British Sheep Breeds,
Their Wool and It's Uses.
DATE!!!!

Vester, Paula. "The Wool Story." Stone Mountain: World
in a Spin. Presentation/demonstration at the GA National Fair.

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Copyright 2004 by Heather McCloy. <email
address>. Permission is granted for republication in SCA-related
publications, provided the author is credited. Addresses change, but a
reasonable attempt should be made to ensure that the author is notified of the
publication and if possible receives a copy.

If this article is reprinted in a publication, I
would appreciate a notice in the publication that you found this article in the
Florilegium. I would also appreciate an email to myself, so that I can track
which articles are being reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan.